Vicodin is for Lovers
by Laurie is me
Summary: Between love and hate, Cameron and House find a happy inbetween. Will later be HouseCameron.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Vicodin is for Lovers pt 1?

Author: revolution25 aka laurieisme

Summary: will later be House/Cameron. Between love and hate, Cameron and House find a happy middle ground.

Rating: Teen right now, may go to Adult later.

Author's Notes: My first House fanfiction, but hardly my first fanfiction. The first part may make you think it's a certain type of fic, it's not, bear with me. As ever thanks eternally to my beta Vessybeta.

* * *

Cum tactent, clamant (_by remaining silent, they cry out_)

They had a really good day.

That is why they were celebrating, they went out to eat after their shift was over, just the five of them.

Of course Chase had to have the spicy enchiladas, which had given him such severe heartburn they had to pull over to a drug store.

Cameron and House lost at rock-paper-scissors, so they headed inside.

This wasn't something that happened all that much, but it was normal enough.

It was supposed to be normal.

For about a minute Cameron and House fought over what exactly to give the 'patient.' But they weren't really fighting, they were stalling so Chase could be in pain for that much longer.

House, would regret their stagnant position, but he wouldn't tell anyone of course, although that comes later.

After this.

"Nobody move!"

A stocky man entered the store with a ski cap and a gun. He waved it at the teller first, then towards the customers.

"Put the money in the bag!" He stretched out a shaky arm holding a brown grocery bag.

"And everyone get down on the ground! I don't wanna haveta hurt anyone!"

House and Cameron did as he said.

As the teller was filling the bag with money, Cameron could feel a pressure on the back loops of her pants. House was slowly moving her behind him, where she'd be less likely to be seen. She moved slowly, but considering the store was tiny it was hard to do so without getting the attention of the robber.

The teller gave the man the bag back, and the man opened it up to look at its contents.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" He put the gun to the teller's head, the teller, in response, shook and tried to say anything to appease the man.

"I- it's what's in the tills... I'm sorry."

"Don't you got a safe?"

"They took- took it at five."

The teller looked all but twenty, and with the gun to his head he looked even younger.

Sirens were heard in the distance, and the robber began to panic more.

He looked around, then approached House and Cameron with his gun stretched out in front of him. He grabbed Cameron and by strength alone lifted her up, but something stopped him half way. House's grip on her arm.

"What's wrong with you? You wanna get dead?"

"No, no. Just, not her," House said in the calmest tone as could be expected in the situation.

In what seemed like the next millisecond House was unconscious, hit in the head with the butt of the gun in the robber's hand.

Cameron was dragged out of the drug store, the bottle of Maalox still clasped in her hand.

End of part one


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Vicodin is for Lovers pt 2?

Author: revolution25 aka laurieisme

Summary: will later be House/Cameron. Between love and hate, Cameron and House find a happy in-between.

Rating: Teen right now, may go to Adult later.

Author's Notes: My first House fanfiction, but hardly my first fanfiction. As ever thanks eternally to my beta Vessybeta. I would like to explain the Wing Nurse. I worked at a hospital YEARS ago, and this is how it worked: In each different wing or floor of the hospital there was a head (and or wing) nurse that oversaw everything. The other nurses went about and did their business, but the wing nurse was in charge of making sure everything in that wing of the hospital ran smoothly, so she would know which patients are allowed visitors and so forth. If you could get past her, you were golden. Is that the way it's run in PPTH? I don't know, but it works for the story.

2nd author's note: You may be wondering why the Latin, well considering I wasted two years in high school on Latin as a second language classes, I thought I'd put them to some use.

Primum non nocere (_first, do no harm_)

Cameron sat in the passenger's seat of the car the robber drove, he was headed downtown. The car was old, and an ugly shade of brown with pieces of the top rusted away making a slight breeze flow through the car.

Cameron was clenching every muscle in her body to stop from shaking. On her shoulder where the man had grabbed her, she knew she was bruising; unlike any other bruise she had ever gotten in her life, it felt cold.

When they approached an old abandoned warehouse he stopped the car and turned to her.

"You be a good girl and get out of the car."

She stared at nothing in front of her, too frightened to do anything he wanted, and too smart to know that doing what he wanted might lead to an early grave.

He angrily got out of his seat and went over to her side, opened the door and pushed her out and onto the ground. When she hit the ground her hand hit something metal and hard, it was a broken off piece of a road sign. She waited until he tried to pick her up and when his gun was tucked in-between his belt and his pants she shoved the scrap into his leg as hard as she could.

He let go of her and fell to the ground in agony. She got to her feet as quickly as possible and started to run away, but looking back at him she stopped herself.

She knew the amount of time it would take her to run to a main street and call the police, and she knew how long it would take the closest ambulance to get there, she also knew how long it would take for him to bleed out.

He was going to die.

She went back to him knowing he was in too much pain to care about trying to kill her, she took the metal out and threw it away.

"What the-"

"I'm a doctor," was the only reply she would give this man.

She undid his belt and wrapped it around his leg, tightening it until it became a proper tourniquet.

When she was done, she ran quickly, but not quick enough.

He shot her.

He took the gun that had dropped to the ground once she undid his belt and shot her as she was running away.

She looked down to see the wound at her side, but kept running to the main street. She got there, then went into the one open thing she could find, a gas station.

She knew she asked for help before she fell to the ground, but she didn't seem to be able to focus on any one thing, even the attendant who came to her side while he was on his cell phone calling 911.

Cameron opened her eyes and felt such a state of confusion, mostly because she didn't remember closing them.

"It's good to see you back in the land of the living."

She turned to her left, where the voice had come from, and saw Dr. Wilson checking her levels. For Wilson he looked disheveled, his shirt was still crisp, but his tie was off to one side and the top button was undone.

"Hi."

It was all she could think of saying. She knew where she was and why she was there, so that left little but small talk.

"I should tell you," he said in a very serious voice which made her ears perk up, "that you are no longer in the land of Oz, and yes, there is no place like Plainsboro Teaching Hospital."

She smiled and felt a weight lift; joking meant that she was going to be just fine.

"Why are you my doctor?" she asked after a moment; knowing his specialty, her stomach seemed to drop into her feet.

"Because I asked. Actually everyone else asked too... well except House, he said you already caused him enough trouble- and before you ask, he's fine. Long story short, I grabbed the longest straw."

He attached her chart to the end of her bed, then sat next to her, "You'll be sore, and you'll need to take a few days off of work, which means minimal physical activity, and you'll be fine. Two more days in the hospital to make sure you develop no internal bleeding and you'll be out of here."

"Thank you," she said as he left the room.

His only response was to smile and nod.

Foreman and Chase entered Cameron's hospital room knowing full well she wasn't allowed to have visitors yet. But they happened to bribe Wilson and House to distract the wing nurse while they snuck in.

The bribe was six hours each of clinic duty.

When in the room Chase and Foreman had all kinds of questions and apologies. They asked if he had hurt her in any way beside the gunshot, and she tried as best she could to assure them that he had not touched her like that.

"When House woke up he asked if you were around, we told him you were here and that was the only thing I remember him asking about you. You think after what you both had been through..." Foreman said explaining further why he thought House was an ass.

"What happened anyway?" Chase asked.

"He stopped the car, pushed me out, I stabbed him with something metal and sharp, then placed a tourniquet around his leg. I ran, and he shot me." As long as her voice was monotone she could pretend that the information she was revealing was about a patient or someone other than herself.

An alarm on Chase's watch went off, signaling their time was up. They said their goodbyes and left as inconspicuously as possible.

It took them about ten minutes for their visit, which was enough time to convince the nurse that there was a boil on Dr. Wilson's ass that needed to be lanced. When they saw Foreman and Chase leave the room they muttered something about misdiagnosis, and scrambled to get away from the nurse who now clasped a very sharp object in her hand.

Several hours later she was allowed visitors, and that was when House went in to see her.

He came in and sat on her bed, apparently not understanding some people have personal space. He said nothing, and she didn't feel like being the one to start anything so they sat in silence for a while.

She sat up, trying to get more comfortable, but only aggravated her wound. She winced in pain and House took out his bottle of Vicodin and handed her one. She swallowed it and waited for him to say something, anything.

He didn't.

That is, until she could feel the affect of the Vicodin, he must have timed it because he said, "Just like candy, actually the best candy in the world."

She nodded, not knowing what else to do.

He was about to say something, paused, then said, "You were really stupid."

Confusion and anger flooded her mind, "What do you mean by-"

"Saving his life almost got you killed, that was the stupidest idea ever."

"I took an oath."

"That oath, when a man has a gun, is no longer applicable."

"I'm not going to be responsible for killing a man."

"So you should die? Because you may have problems with taking someone's life, he didn't."

"Why are you getting so angry with me?" she asked exasperated. "I think the common emotion is to be angry with the person who tried to kill me, not the other way around."

"And what if he had killed you? Did you ever stop to think what that would do to the people around you?" He paused, then said, "Who would make my coffee?"

When he said it, there were emotions that came through those words; it was about more than just coffee. It was one of the few times that House showed a truly felt hurt.

"I'm sorry."

And in a way she was.

"You should be, do you know how hard it is to try to convince Wilson to show a little leg?"

Houses wall built back up, his humor being one of the things he did to keep people away.

"I can't say I've run into that problem," she smiled, playing right into what he wanted and knowing full well what was going on.

He sighed, "I don't want you to hate me."

Cameron was taken aback. It was the first time that he really told her anything about his preference as to what she felt except for his wanting for her not to love him.

Before she could say anything in response he said, "I also don't want you to love me. So."

"So," she repeated, clearly not knowing where he was going with this.

"I think we can- well there is a middle ground to all of this."

"Indifference?" she asked, trying to find his meaning.

He rolled his eyes, "Okay smarty pants, a little further away from hate."

"You mean... friends?"

"I don't share my pills with just anyone."

"Okay," she said with a smile.

This time he was the one to hold out his hand, and she took it gladly, happy that they could find a middle ground. She was happy for this change, because hating him had been taking so much of her energy, and with the recent turn of events she didn't really want to hate anyone.

"By the way, what do I have to do to get you to show a little leg?"

"Twelve clinic hours." She said automatically, knowing that he would never actually go through with that.

He groaned, "You're killing me! What if Chase does twelve clinic hours?"

"Eighteen and you got yourself a deal."

"Glorious," he said taking her lemon jello.

"That's mine!" she said trying to grab at it.

He lifted the lid then licked it, "Now it's mine."

She rolled her eyes, "It would be a lot easier if I just hated you."

She never meant those words, and neither party involved thought she did. And as punishment for saying such a thing she was subjected to fifteen minutes of General Hospital.

But she really didn't mind.

End of part 2


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Vicodin is for Lovers pt 3?

Author: revolution25 aka laurieisme

Summary: will later be House/Cameron. Between love and hate, Cameron and House find a happy in-between.

Rating: Teen right now, may go to Adult later.

Author's Notes: My first House fanfiction, but hardly my first fanfiction. As ever thanks eternally to my beta Vessybeta.

2nd Author's Note: Can I just say how hard it is to write a fanfiction and not try to use the word house other than a character's name? It's odd...

Ubi amici, ibi opes ( _where there are friends, there is wealth _)

Cameron felt good, it was the day she was able to come back to work. She hated sitting around doing nothing, she almost longed for paper work. Almost.

Her days at home consisted of her reading, watching TV, looking longingly at her treadmill, eating, and sleeping. She wanted to go back to work so she would have a purpose again, at least at the hospital she could make other people feel better, at home she wallowed in her own misery.

She walked into the room and was met by almost everyone welcoming her back.

"Thank god," House said once all of the talking calmed down, "Now will you tell these idiots they're wrong?"

"Wrong about what?" She took her seat next to Foreman at the table, looking at the whiteboard.

She didn't see any symptoms written down, so she had no idea on what was going on.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, especially if they're actually right."

"That can't be possible," House said limping over to his coffee.

"Why?" she asked, in a general state of bewilderment.

"Because I'm right."

"House thinks the patient has nothing wrong with him, we should just send him on his way." Chase said.

"I never said he had nothing wrong with him, I just said what's wrong with him isn't interesting."

"Symptoms?" she asked.

"He has Periarteritis Nodosa and Hep B. treatment is working, let's move on." House turned to Cameron, "So, did you have any fantasies while you were lying in bed all day? Were they about other women, and could you give a detailed description of what you did in them?"

Cameron smiled, "I just came up to say hello and see if there was a new case, Cuddy has me down for clinic duty this morning."

"What's with Cuddy and clinic duty?" Chase asked as she headed out the door, "She made me go down there three days in a row."

House stared down Cameron and it took all her might not to laugh, she bit her cheek and tried to dig her nails into her palms.

"What a bitch!" House exclaimed.

Which made it too much, Cameron walked out of the room and once the elevator doors closed laughed heartily.

Cameron sat at the desk, the desk only she seemed to use, and answered another letter saying while Dr. House appreciates the honor of your invitation to talk at your collage, he regretfully declines.

That couldn't be further from the truth, but she wrote it anyway.

She had been there almost all night, and the light from her computer screen was getting to her, but she couldn't stop now. If she didn't get these done then the mail pile would be that much more when she got to work in the morning.

"You should get home." Wilson said as he entered the room.

"Too much mail," she took her glasses off and sat back in her chair, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." he turned a chair that was tucked under the table to face her.

"How do you respond to all of your mail?"

"Truth?"

"Of course."

"I don't." he said placing the file he held on the table, "I open all of them and I only reply to the ones that come from prestigious places."

"Thanks." She said returning to her work knowing that she could never do such a thing.

"Why didn't your family come?"

Cameron froze, she didn't know how she wanted to respond to that.

"Truth?"

"Of course."

She tried to distance her feelings, tried to make it not hurt, or at least hurt less.

"They haven't talked to me since I told them I was getting married."

It didn't, it hurt just as much as it did every other time she's had to think about it. She hoped she was able to hid it well enough for Wilson to know that she was hiding the pain, and know not to talk about it anymore.

Apparently it worked, he said his goodbyes, then left her to be alone.

Cameron opened the door to the exam room, on the exam table sat House and a patient, both watching the small television screen.

"You needed a consult?"

"This man has large amounts of mucus coming from his nose and his temperature is above normal."

"He has a cold?"

"Well I thought it required the attention of a rather skilled doctor. Do you want to do an MRI to make sure he's-"

"I get it, make fun of Cameron because she cares too much about patients."

"You can never care too much." The patient said as he stared at her.

"I thought you were on my side?" House got down and walked to the man's folder.

"I was until I saw her... you're on your own."

Cameron smiled and House rolled his eyes, "Traitor."

He handed him a slip of paper and the patient exited the room.

"Is that all Dr. House?"

"I heard through the grape vine that you don't talk to your family anymore-"

Cameron sighed, "The grape vine should keep his mouth shut."

"-I then became very curious as to why that would be."

"Do you think that you could make time to be an actual doctor instead of a busybody?"

"Takes too much effort."

There was a hint of a smile in his eyes, he was joking yes, but he still longed to know the reason.

It took her a moment, did she want to tell him now and just get it over with? It would stop a week of questioning before she finally gave in, but she would have to deal with all of his remarks now.

"It wasn't just because he was dying... He was poor and I was paying for his medical bills... They thought I deserved someone better."

"And you think you didn't?"

She turned to him, "I deserved him. There is no better or worse, just... I deserved the man I loved."

She left and House tried to process the information she had left him with.

Cameron walked out of the clinic and walked into the nearest ladies restroom. She locked it after she checked to see if anyone was in the stalls and began to cry.

He was a good man, he left this earth, and she needed to grieve for him.

The thing that hurt the most was that the further away from his death, the more she forgot.

But he needed to matter, once he didn't he would be lost, and she couldn't allow that.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Vicodin is for Lovers pt 4 out of ?

Author: revolution25 aka laurieisme

Summary: will later be House/Cameron. Between love and hate, Cameron and House find a happy in-between.

Rating: Teen right now, may go to Adult later.

Author's Notes: My first House fanfiction, but hardly my first fanfiction. As ever thanks eternally to my betavessybeta .

2nd Author's Note: If you don't know what Nathan's Famous is, I feel sorry for you. It's a hotdog chain on the east coast, the best hotdogs and cheese sauce, ever. AND forgot to say that there are vague spoilers in here for season two.

Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur (_anything said in Latin sounds profound_)

Surprisingly, House had not brought up the subject of her husband, at all. She worried that it was because he was waiting for his opportunity to say something either really nasty, or in front of everyone.

He had ample opportunity, and yet, he never once brought it up. He teased her like normal, but never did he bring it up.

And it scared her.

Scared her because if he didn't make jokes out of it she wouldn't know how he felt about it. Not that she required his approval to feel anything, but rather that when she knew how he felt she could judge how much to resent him for that following week.

"How's the treatment working?"

House's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she rambled off on how all of the treatments were working and that the patient would be out of the hospital in about a week.

"What in the hell did you think you were doing!"

Cuddy marched into the sanctity that was the Diagnostics Department.

"Baking an apple pie, but it seems that I was actually treating a patient, the things you learn..." House said without missing a beat.

"You think you can just hijack the MRI machine?"

"The word 'hijack' in these times is a little insensitive, besides we did no such thing, we just temporarily stole it."

"Well do you think 'temporarily stealing' hospital property is in any way not against the law?" Her hands were now at her hips but House didn't flinch.

"But, but, Foreman taught me how." House said in his best depraved voice.

This made Foreman fume, but he did little else than fidget in his seat. He wanted to argue with House, but he wasn't going to be able to do that until Cuddy left the room.

"That's enough!" Cuddy said, "House, for that stunt, six more hours of clinic duty. And I mean you do them this time, no more of Chase doing all the clinic hours for you and Dr. Cameron."

"Hey!" Chase looked rather upset at House.

And seeing that most of the team was pissed off at House, Cuddy knew her work here was done. He was going to think twice next time.

"Was that why I was in the clinic for THREE days straight?"

"No, Cuddy was just saying that to tear us apart," House said dryly.

"That is just not fair!"

"Life's not fair, grow up," House said as he limped into his office.

Cameron speared her Nathan's Famous fry, and put the large piece right in her mouth. House was sitting across from her, and took a large bite from his hotdog.

"I think you were too harsh on Chase today," she said once she swallowed her food.

"Chase was whining like a baby, I may not have a choice but to deal with him, but I will not be nice to someone who whines." He said with his mouth full.

"I'd like to see you not whine if you had to do that much clinic duty." She said rather quietly, looking up from her fries with a smile on her face.

"That's different, I'm a cripple, I'm allowed to whine."

Cameron was in the middle of chewing on a fry, after she swallowed she said, "You are not a cripple."

"Tell that to the cane." He said as he lifted up as if she had forgotten it.

She felt like reassuring him that it wasn't that bad, but she was sure he would take it the wrong way, so they both stayed uncomfortably silent for a while chewing their food.

"I just think that you're going to have to live with the fact that Chase, and Foreman I might add, are going to be working with you a long time; it wouldn't hurt to be nicer to them."

"Yes it would, it would hurt my soul. Do you want me to be more like Chase and pretend to care about patients, and then go home and not loose a moment's sleep over their death? No, you want me to be more like Wilson."

"And what would it hurt if you were?" She asked feeling hurt that he couldn't even think of compromising.

He smiled a sad sarcastic smile, "You mean be enough involved with my patients that every other doctor thinks I'm some kind of golden boy, then go and screw any woman who isn't my wife."

"He's your friend," Cameron said astonished by his words.

"Perspective, Dr. Cameron, perspective. I may not be the nicest doctor, but everyone has their flaws."

Cameron didn't know when it started, but she thought it had been the day that Cuddy interrupted their normal workday, or at least that was near the catalyst.

House and she still talked, outside of work, as did Wilson and House, but at work he became more surly and mean to everyone, including herself and Wilson. He was calmer outside of work, but that wasn't lasting long.

And his bottles of vicodin weren't lasting as long as they used to.

Wilson had talked to Stacy, and apparently they hadn't fought recently, so the behavior was coming from somewhere else.

They were talking about the symptoms of the current patient, and right after he wrote down the last symptom, he popped open his bottle of vicodin.

Cameron unconsciously clenched when she heard the sound coming from his pocket.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked her as he put the pill in his mouth and swallowed.

"Nothing," she said not able to look him in the eye.

"Okay, how about everyone takes a five minute brake and leave Dr. Cameron and me to talk about this disorder she must have."

Chase left the room once he heard the word break, and Foreman reluctantly got up.

"What's wrong with you House?" she asked once she knew Foreman was out of earshot.

"I'm not the one clenching."

"But you are the one who's been acting mean, even for you."

"Trying to fix me Dr. Cameron?"

She felt as if with this single conversation he was trying to tear down the friendship they had built up recently. She was well aware of his self-destructive side, so this was not going to drive her away, but she was not about to sit around and take all the abuse he wanted to give to her. She would be around when he came back to his senses.

Cameron got up wordlessly, and had her hand on the door when he said, "Running away again I see."

"Deflecting everything again, aren't you Dr. House? Any pain that you're feeling is not going to go away just because you're repressing it. I'm going to go and help Dr. Wilson on his patient, beep me when you regain some of you're old composure."

He said something after she left, but she did not hear it, and she was not going to ask him to repeat it.

"So he just blew up?" Wilson asked.

He stood next to her as she sat in the lab, preparing a slide.

"He's been doing that a lot lately, I just couldn't take it. I hope you don't mind my coming here to help you."

"Not at all. Cancer is... well it's a lot of work."

"Is there anything, what could be causing House to act like this?" she asked as she stepped away from the microscope so he could look at the slide.

"He hasn't had a fight with Stacey. She reassured me, if anything lately... before the mood change, they were getting along as best as could be expected. Steve... his rat, is healthy. Everything seems to be going good, none of the patients dying..."

"He's taking more vicodin."

She didn't know why she said it aloud to him, other than it felt like she just needed to blurt it out or she would explode.

"Are you su-"

"Approximately thirty-three percent more."

Wilson looked at her bewildered, "How do you know that?"

"We work together all day, it's hard not to notice."

She wanted to add that when she met him after work she noticed it there as well, but Wilson was unaware of their friendship.

It's not as if they consciously decided to keep it secret, more that it just seemed to be the way it happened. Either seemed to be sure the other wanted to keep it a secret, so neither said a word.

Wilson got up from the stool and wrote down the information in his folder.

"Let's hope it's just a mood swing and he'll get out of it soon."

It wasn't.

A week later he was much worse than before. He was still helping patients, but it took even Wilson a lot of inner strength to not punch him in the face at times.

To top it off he hadn't shown up for work that day, hadn't even called in sick.

Cameron was beyond worry, she was pissed.

When she was finally able to leave she did, which made it about five in the evening, and she drove down to House's place as quickly as she could.

She got in with the spare key she had seen him use when he forgot his key, and when she opened the door two smells attacked her, one was the tangy after sent of alcohol, the other sex.

She feared for disturbing the latter, but when she heard snores she knew she wouldn't.

She hadn't realized it until one rolled down her cheek, but she was crying. She wiped the tear away harshly, not wanting to think, not wanting to feel anything about what must have happened. She entered his bedroom to see him sleeping peacefully. The look on his face was of complete relaxation.

Which made Cameron madder than hell.

She put on her 'happy to see you' face and helped get him up off the bed.

He was only wearing a pair of boxers, which would have normally made her blush, that of course would be when she wasn't so mad, now she was too angry to blush.

His nose was in the messy bun she had in her hair, "Mmm good morning Dr. Cameron." was barely coherent.

After struggling only with the weight of him, not with House himself (he seemed rather compliant), she put him down, then turned the cold water on in the shower on full power.

Once the cold water hit him he struggled against it, then seeing the person who did this to him yelled, "What are you doing?"

"Sobering you up. Now? I'm washing you." She took the soap from the soap dish and threw it at his head but hitting his shoulder. She then threw the shampoo bottle at him, which excited a yelp from him.

He got up, which was hard in the cold water and the leg, and tried to leave the shower, but she pushed him back in.

He tried this once more, once he learned he was not going to get past her he turned on the hot water and she closed the door so he could take off his boxers and shower.

She left him in the bathroom and went through his apartment and took all of the glasses and alcohol bottles and began pouring them all down the drain. She looked down, near the piano, and saw a cage. She walked closer and saw a rat-tail; the rat himself was hiding under the wood shavings.

Feeling very sorry for the animal she went into his fridge grabbed a piece of cheese, and put it in the cage. On her way back to the kitchen she saw a cabinet open, it was his liquor cabinet.

She took each bottle from it and dumped it, and as soon as the last bottle was gone, a bottle of Grey Goose, he came out of his bedroom wearing clean clothes.

He pushed past her and went to the bottle, but it was too late.

"Are you insane?" he turned to her dropping the bottle in the sink.

"I couldn't think of a better question to ask you. What is wrong with you House? You are spiraling down and no one seems to know why."

"Stay out of my life."

"Why? I'm your friend."

"Not anymore, get out."

"No." She stood closer to him, "A patient almost died today because of you, because you weren't there to help us. This has gone too far, whatever it is, and it needs to stop."

"Or you'll do what? Spank me?"

"Or you'll die." Cameron's voice faltered a little, but she was able to look fearless again.

Her outside body language was like an armor, but everything underneath was very breakable. If he were able to pierce it she may loose it right there, so she couldn't allow that.

His blue eyes were looking intently into her eyes, they were fierce, ready to hurt, "I slept with a hooker."

She wanted to react, wanted to vomit, but she could only just stand there.

"What do you want from me?" Her voice held almost no force whatsoever, "You want some kind of reaction, what is it?"

"Cry."

She was very close to faltering now, "You really want to hurt me?"

"Now, yes I do."

A tear fell down her cheek, "what did I do to you?" She was breaking.

"Nothing, I'm just a bastard."

She now noticed his game, and although she was still hurt, she was gaining back her own defenses, "Or you just want to shove me away. You don't want me near because you think I'm going to start to hate you when I know you. This way, if I hate you, you know it's not really because of who you are, and therefore you're saving yourself. I'm not going to hate you."

"Could you be that nieve? You really think that don't you."

"I may be nieve, but not about this, I know it." She smiled a weak sad smile then continued, "House, I can't fix what's wrong with you, you have to be the one to do it. Once you've done that... and tested for STDs, come back. I'll be waiting."

She left his apartment and went to her car. She sat there for a few minutes, hoping she did the right thing, hoping that she helped him in some way.

She wanted to suggest to Wilson to go over there, but any more badgering may make it that much worse.

So she sat and waited, waited for House to make a choice.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Vicodin is for Lovers pt 5?

Author: revolution25 aka laurieisme

Summary: will later be House/Cameron. Between love and hate, Cameron and House find a happy in-between.

Rating: Teen right now, may go to Adult later.

Author's Notes: My first House fanfiction, but hardly my first fanfiction. As ever thanks eternally to my beta vessybeta.

Vero (_really_)

Two months.

Two long painful months.

That was how long House had been gone for, two months, other wise known as sixty one days.

Now she avoided the Emergency Room like the plague, knowing at any moment they could wheel in House, dead on a gurney.

Every emotion seemed to be getting to her, and it all circulated around House not being there. She was angry at him for loosing control, and worried for the same reason. She found that in a day her emotions would change ten times over, and she would have to drive home with a headache.

Foreman had taken over in House's absence, which was working fine, but it wasn't the same, and the patients were... well they weren't as successful as they had been in the past.

Wilson had helped a bit, he wasn't in contact with House, but he made her feel as though it were only a matter of time before House came back. That is until he left, then ten minutes later she was sure he wasn't going to come back ever again.

Of course lying to everyone was horrible. Wilson and she talked, and they decided that the best thing to tell everyone was that House was on sabbatical. The worst part of it was to try to convince Cuddy, but that had been left to Wilson. On the surface it seemed as if she had no involvement, no knowledge of what happened to House, and even Wilson didn't think she knew anything.

It was hardest to lie to him, she wanted to tell him what she knew about what was happening to his friend, but she always seemed to fall short. Saying what happened that day, what she found out that day, would make everything too real. She couldn't actually bring herself to say that House admitted to sleeping with a prostitute, that he was drinking himself to death. That with the liquor and pills she doubted that it would be long before he overdosed.

But it had been long, obscenely long.

Sixty-one days of long.

She was again the first one to arrive of the day, she set up her laptop and paperwork, then took out her thermos and began the day just as it had been done sixty one times before.

She had stopped making coffee for everyone when the two other men began shaking their empty cups in front of them, almost demanding a refill. She was not Susie Homemaker, and she was not going to be the coffee wench for any of them. At least House had enough brains to get up and refill his own damn coffee.

Without House there, they would take advantage of her kindness without noticing it. Her being as nice as she was when House was around was mostly a counter balance, without him, everything was off kilter.

She opened up the first letter and after skimming it she put the name of the university in her 'template.' The template was a pre-written letter, explaining that Dr. House was on sabbatical and could not speak and or take the case. She felt guilty about not being more personal, especially if it were a case, but it was necessary because even though they were good doctors they could never be as good as they were when House was there.

She took a sip from the red coffee mug and went on to look at the rest of the mail. She threw out a piece of junk mail, but at the same time heard a bang in House's office.

Cameron looked to see the blinds had been closed, she knew she had kept them open.

She took the golf club that was propped up against the wall, and cautiously made her way to the door. She opened it up as quietly as she could, then stepped inside; looking to the back of the office where it sounded like the noise came from. There was nothing there, but the office was not in the way she left it.

"Hey."

Cameron swung the club at the direction where the voice had come from, which was behind her. The club was caught though and Cameron was face to face with the intruder.

"House."

"That's me, and that weapon is my golf club."

He looked good. He was still not clean-shaven, but somehow his eyes seemed that much brighter, which was something odd considering his eyes were always a piercing blue. Maybe it was the light of the person behind them; maybe that is what shone through so much clearer now.

"House." She repeated.

Before she knew what she was doing she had dropped the club to the floor and was hugging him. It was something she always wanted to do, but House's gruff exterior would never allow. Now she was sure he still did not appreciate it, but she was overcome.

"Hey..." he gave her one pat on the back to try to comfort her and tell her to let go, then said, "Not in front of the rat."

She reluctantly let go of him, then looked to the front of the office, there on the television sat the cadge for the rat, and the rat as well, who seemed to be sizing her up.

"I thought you'd be dead."

"It's lucky I'm not, or this would be really awkward."

"How... Where..." She said, which made complete sense to her but she doubted that House would entirely understand.

"I was at home, taking your advice," He produced a paper out of his pocket, "Look ma, no STDs."

She took the paper and read over the lab results, "you should get this framed."

"I was thinking of getting it laminated on my door." He stopped for a moment then said, "Cameron... I-"

"Cameron," Wilson entered the diagnostics office, looking solely at a file and not looking up, "I have a patient, has cancer in her heart, I was hoping you..." He looked at her desk and saw she was not there, which was rather a surprise considering she had always been there no matter if House was in or not.

"Wilson." She said calling his attention.

He looked over to her and saw House.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

"I think I'll let you boys catch up." She moved from her spot in front of House and grabbed the file from Wilson; "I'll get the lab results back to you before lunch."

And with that she left.

"Where in the hell have you been?" Wilson asked.

His voice didn't have much emotion to it, it was almost as if he was on automatic pilot.

"At my place."

"Did you think it might be a good idea to tell someone where you were, that you were FINE?"

"I'm sorry baby, I meant to call."

"This isn't a joke! You were gone, not a note, nothing. I had to cover for you with Cuddy, she's threatened to fire me seven times. You can do what you like but tell someone first!"

"Didn't Cameron tell you?" House asked genuinely confused.

"Tell me what?"

House's eyebrows went up in realization and he shook his head, "Never mind. I must have hallucinated calling the office and telling her... Well in the state I was in I probably hallucinated a lot. So you didn't come over dressed as a badger trying to eat up my piano?"

"So, that's the only explanation you have? You want to tell me what really happened to you?"

House thought about it for a moment, then walked further into his office, "I was detoxing."

He said it quietly, like a child in elementary school admitting to their ill deeds.

"You finally got help?"

"No," as he said it Wilson's face fell so he went on, "I did it myself."

He limped to behind his desk and picked up a paper looking at it strangely, then throwing it away.

"You can't tell Cuddy, Stacey, anyone. As far as they are concerned I'm still popping Vicodin. Got it?"

Wilson nodded, even though he did not understand this strange request from his friend.

"You look good; for you."

"House is back?" Chase asked.

Cameron looked down at the slide; the cancer was not going into remission.

"I just saw him in his office." She said, trying not to smile.

"Did he say why he was gone?"

She shook her head, "no, he didn't mention it. Just yelled at me for using his golf club as a weapon."

"Foreman's going to be pissed."

Both she and Chase tried with no avail, the both laughed at the thought of Foreman coming in and hearing the news.

"You've got to let me tell him." He insisted.

"No, that will take all the fun out of it. Once I'm done with this I'm going straight up to the conference room, I want to see his expression when he sees House for the first time."

Chase thought about it for a moment, then started to help her with her lab results so they could get up there faster.

"Fine, but the rat has to go, this is a hospital House." Cuddy said trying to inch away from the cadge as much as possible.

"No can do. The rat's with me. We bonded over my time on sabbatical. We bonded in a way only a man and his rat can bond... you wouldn't understand the complexities-"

"It's a disease ridden rodent." She looked disgusted at Steve.

"Rodent, yes that's what most rats are, but he is not disease ridden. He's had all of his shots."

Cameron walked through the door and handed House three files, "these are the cases that were mailed to you. I thought you'd find at least one of these interesting."

Just as she was leaving she turned to Steve and handed him a piece of cheese which he gladly took from her hand and began nibbling on.

"I knew you'd remember me."

"What's wrong with you," Cuddy asked, "It's a rat!"

Cameron looked at her for a moment then shrugged, "he's cute."

House nodded, "they had a moment in the elevator."

House then checked the files over; once he found the one that was the most dire he took that one in the conference room.

"Where's Foreman?" He asked looking around.

Wilson smiled, "he has a new reason for car trouble."

"And no big boss man to impress by being in on time." Chase completed.

"He actually has car trouble," Cameron stepped in, "His car's been leaking anti-freeze for the past week, no matter what any mechanic does it still leaks. And before you call me naive I saw the leak myself."

Wilson rolled his eyes and Chase sighed.

"Let's start without him then. Patient is ten years old and has bone loss as well as..."

Cameron noticed that House was very much the same person he had always been. Whatever he worked out didn't make him any less of a bastard, it didn't make him an overall nicer person, He was just better than he had been when he crashed.

He and Foreman had a rather awkward time of it, at first they were just distant, but once they got back into the rhythm of it, it seemed as though they were as they had always been.

House's return was more than welcomed, and Cameron soon forgot how many days had gone by without him.

end of part five


	6. Chapter 6

**Part Six**

Title: Vicodin is for Lovers pt 6

Author: revolution25 aka laurieisme

Summary: will later be House/Cameron. Between love and hate, Cameron and House find a happy in-between.

Rating: Teen right now, may go to Adult later.

Author's Notes: My first House fanfiction, but hardly my first fanfiction. As ever thanks eternally to my beta Vessybeta.

Amor gignit amorem (_love begets love_)

She was now driving to House's place, after he had invited her to a welcome back party he was throwing for himself.

She had changed from her work clothes and was wearing jeans and one of her nicer tops. She was not going to think that maybe she was wearing the best casual clothes she had because it was House. Alright, she might think it but she would never admit it to herself, or anyone else.

She knocked, wondering what a party thrown by House would look like, and becoming worried that she was not dressed right.

House answered the door dressed in what he wore at work, and she smiled knowing she should have never thought differently.

"I brought you this," Cameron said showing him a bottle.

House took it and read the label aloud, "Sparkling Cider. Cute..."

He stepped aside and let her in. House's apartment looked much cleaner than the last time she had seen it and it no longer smelled like a sex club, but more like a home.

The only decoration, seemed to be the only other person there, Wilson drunk on the couch.

"You only invited us?" Cameron stated more than asked as she took off her coat.

"Of course, you think I'd let Chase even know where I live?"

"Hey Cameron, game's on."

Cameron smiled, of course it was on.

"Great." She said, trying to mean it.

"What do you want to drink?" House asked from the kitchen.

"Some of the stuff I brought."

House laughed from the kitchen, "You sure you want to? Slow it down Dr. Cameron, we have all night to get that top off."

Wilson's head perked up off the couch when he heard that, and looked to Cameron who's cheeks grew red.

House entered the room again, handing her a glass, and holding one himself. She looked to see that their glasses held the same liquid, something about that made her smile.

House pushed Wilson to one side of the couch and sat down.

"Now Cameron, the first thing you have to know about football... Well the quarterback is like a quarterback, only a different one for the little metaphor we have here..."

She sighed, she was going to have to find some way to repay him for this.

An hour later the game was all but muted, Wilson was passed out on the couch, and Cameron and House were at the piano.

"So your part in this is something even a well trained monkey could do... Chase isn't ready for it yet, but you, I have faith in you."

"Thank you very kindly Dr. House." Cameron laughed as she sipped her cider.

"You hold this key down and count to two, no mississippi's or anything like that, just one, two, got it?"

"Funny enough in med school they require that we're able to count up to eight."

"Then this key for a count of one, then THIS key for a count of three. Ready?" he asked as he placed his own hands on the keys.

She nodded.

He began to play something soft and soothing, something she didn't figure him for ever wanting to play.

He sighed for what she thought was no reason, "That was your cue."

"I'm sorry." She laughed.

"You're worse than a well trained monkey. Come on Dr. Cameron."

"Okay, okay, I've got it." she laughed.

He began to play again, and she began to pick up her cues. They played for a moment, she listened to the song and couldn't believe that she wasn't screwing it up.

"Funny thing about Wilson," He said, "He is always sleeps when I play this song. A bomb could go off, but as long as I play this song, he's out."

She heard what he was saying, and was trying to process what it could mean.

"I... I lied about the hooker," He said, "I got a hooker but I... I just watched."

She knew that this was his way of apologizing for what happened that night, she didn't know what to say to it though.

"Okay."

It was all she could think of saying. She still hated that he did it, but it made everything a little less worse.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you," Cameron stopped playing and looked over at him surprised, "Keep going" He nudged.

She did as she was told, but found herself very surprised that he would even say the words.

"You weren't well."

"I wanted to make you mad because I was mad at you for Wilson."

This was the most House had opened up to her ever, and she thought she'd faint from the sight, but she had to keep talking.

"For Wilson?"

House looked away from her, down at the keys, "Because of... the two of you. I guess I kind of liked it when you had a crush on me... I don't think that's ever happened before, and when the two of you became closer I guess I- Well he is better looking-"

"House," Cameron interrupted, knowing he had to be really thick headed, "Wilson and I were, and have been, spending more time together because of you. That's all we ever talk about, or a dying patient. We aren't... I'm not interested in him."

House looked to the keys again and shook his head but said nothing. They both sat there playing the song for what seemed like forever. After a while her finger slipped and she played the wrong note.

"Uhhgg and I had such high hopes. Okay forget it." House put his hand over the keys she was instructed to play.

She tried to slap them away, "I've got it. My finger slipped. Come on House, it's my first time playing piano."

"Alright, but you're on probation. I have to pat you down every hour on the hour, make sure you aren't holding any piano playing enhancement drugs."

She agreed and began playing her part again.

Right after the third time her part came around; she felt his hand on her cheek, then his lips on hers.

She didn't know what to do, with everything that had been going on, with what she just went through with him. She was in a way still angry with him over what had happened.

But House was kissing her, his lips were begging for her to comply, and she couldn't say no. The kiss spoke of need and want, of conformation of feelings, and of feelings long repressed.

It didn't mean more than it was, he wasn't conforming his ever lasting love for her, he was just confirming for that moment, that her feelings towards him were not at all unwelcomed.

And she liked that.

Wilson snorted and they quickly broke apart, House began to play something different, and Cameron took her hand off the keys.

Wilson's phone rang three minutes later, and he had a very short conversation with the person on the other end. He hung up and sighed.

"Well?" House asked.

"Get the blanket." Wilson said making himself more comfortable.

House went to the closet and got the blanket and threw it over to Wilson who unfolded it.

"I've got to go." Cameron said feeling as if she were watching a private act between two friends of the male persuasion.

"Goodbye Allison." Wilson said sleepily from the couch.

"Goodnight Jimmy," She said teasingly.

She approached the door and House met her, one hand on the knob.

He seemed to think something over, then opened the door for her, She walked so she was on the other side of it, but turned back to him.

"Goodnight Dr. House." She said with a bit if playfulness.

He only replied with a 'goodnight' but that was more than she really expected from him.

The entire night was more than she expected.

She drove home, not thinking of anything other than the time spent at House's piano.

She arrived at work the next day at her usual time, and went straight for the coffee machine. Once that was set up she went over to Steve's cadge and put in some more food and water. House had brought him back to his apartment last night, so she didn't have to worry about him escaping as she did so.

She then went to her paperwork, lab results and letters. It was an hour before Chase then Foreman walked in. They both grumbled and went to get their own coffee. Twenty minutes of them waking up, then Wilson and House arrived. House seemed very much like himself, but Wilson was groggy and a little out of it. House held a small carrier cadge, and Steve in it, and went to quickly put him in his other cadge.

After Cameron wordlessly helped House with his coffee, she poured one for Wilson and set it in front of him along with an aspirin.

"Thanks." he said taking it in his hands.

"Now if Cameron is done waitressing the joint, lets get on to the patient."

Cameron, who would usually get at least a little angry at a comment like that, was not angry at all, she just handed him a piece of paper.

"The Marrow's clean. Ran all tests, they all came back negative."

"Then I was right, it's viral. "Chase said sitting up a little taller in his chair.

"No, it just means that the bone marrow is clean."

"It could still be Addisons." Cameron said.

"Won't you let it go?" House said, "The test came back-"

"Inconclusive, which means that maybe we should test again." Cameron said.

"Do you want her to have any blood left, inside her body? No, we can't do anymore tests. She needs all the blood she can get..."

Cameron thought it over for a moment then turned to the whiteboard, "What if it were in her blood."

"We tested for toxins." Foreman said.

"But what if there was something in there that we don't normally look for, because it's naturally produced."

"You mean her body is producing lethal amounts of something?" Chase asked.

"That could be why the test results we did with her blood came back inconclusive."

House looked at the white board and tapped his cane, "Ten year old body poisoning itself... I like it. Go get one more sample from her and test it."

Cameron quickly entered House's office, "I've got the lab resu-"

She stopped dead when she saw Stacey and House sitting next to each other.

"I'm sorry," She turned leaving but was stopped by House's voice.

"Give me the lab results, then you can go away."

Cameron gave him the folder then quickly walked out of the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Vicodin is for Lovers pt 7?

Author: revolution25 aka laurieisme

Summary: will later be House/Cameron. Between love and hate, Cameron and House find a happy in-between.

Rating: Teen right now, may go to Adult later.

Author's Notes: My first House fanfiction, but hardly my first fanfiction. As ever thanks eternally to my vessybeta.

Earlier parts can be found here:

Quid est veritas( _what is truth _)

The kiss did not mean anything really. It just happened, the both of them knowing it wasn't anything more than what it was.

So why did Cameron even question it? Of course he would be going back to Stacey, he loved her, and even if she didn't want him back she still loved him.

She was a doctor, why was she thinking so stupidly about all of these things? She should just leave her emotions out of everything, just try and get her job done to the best of her ability.

But for some reason it still hurt, it hurt to think that not only did House still care for Stacey, but what if he cleaned up for her? That would seal it, that he just couldn't love her, even if he did try at one point.

The next five days were confirming everything she had thought, and she was finding herself heartbroken.

House and Stacey at least talked once a day, in his office for long periods of time, with the door shut and the blinds closed.

He was also avoiding her, not talking to her outside of work, and never really looking her in the eye when they were working.

She looked over to his office, the door was shut and she heard him say something to which Stacey laughed.

She went to her desk, and plopped down on the chair. She grabbed a letter addressed to House, then took the letter opener and violently opened the letter.

After answering at least forty letters, she checked the time, it was eleven at night, and they were still in his office. She couldn't take it anymore, she grabbed her coat and walked out, she left the hospital and walked over to a park nearby. Feeling the cold air on her face always made her feel good, it made all of her thoughts disappear until she thought of nothing, not even the cold.

Once her head cleared she went back to the office, ready to finish House's patient files for the clinic, then go home.

"Cameron doesn't need to know."

She could clearly hear House saying.

"I don't know why you insist on Dr. Cameron not knowing. Everyone else knows, why not her?"

"Because she's a spy for the Russians, we can't let her get the key codes."

"Fine, you deal with it, but sooner or later she's going to figure it out."

With that Stacey left.

Cameron's head went back to the uncomfortable state it had been in before her walk. Had everyone else, Foreman and Chase, known about the two of them, and House was keeping it from her?

Why?

She would have asked herself that if she didn't already know the reason for it, House was being nice and was trying to stop her from getting her feelings hurt.

She hated the thought of House being nice, she just wished he could be an asshole and tell her what was going on. She would have liked it if he told her and laughed when he saw she was miserable, that way she could hate him.

But she couldn't hate him for being nice to her, even though she wanted to.

She hated all of this. Once things looked like they were getting better, once it seemed like they were friends again, House avoided her. She hated all of these feelings, and all of the stupid things that had been happening.

If he was seeing Stacey he could tell her to her face, he owed her that at least. She went into his office without knocking seeing him sitting looking at something on his computer, which he shut off quickly when he heard her enter.

"What is it I can't know House?" She asked.

She was never one to beat around the bush, and it was doubly so when it concerned House.

"Because I... I can't take much more of this," She began, "First you leave for the longest time, then you come back and you... I want to hate you for leaving but I can't because you... you're here. I was so angry with you for leaving me alone like that, I wanted to tell you, I wanted to scream at you. And then I saw you and all of it fell silent. We were good for a couple of days, we were better than before; and now... Now you, what you can't stand the sight of me? You don't even acknowledge that I'm alive and now I'm just as angry as I was before. But now it may be more than before because you're actually here to get mad at I can't do anything about it because it's unprofessional, but I can't bring it up with you after work because you wont speak to me! So what is it that I can't know, tell me, because anything is better than this."

House looked at her shocked by what she had said, processing it for a moment before he spoke.

When he spoke his voice was even and he tried to show as little emotion as possible, "I was trying to protect you."

"Obviously it hasn't worked." She said harshly as she held onto herself trying to stop herself from falling to pieces.

He took a manila envelope out from his desk and opened it, "The robber, Joseph Perry, is trying to sue you. He says he refused treatment from you and because of what you did he now can't use his leg." He paused, "I thought you had enough problems because of him, I was hoping that it could all be settled without your involvement."

All of the emotions that came forth crashed together and she was not making a sound, but crying. House was being nice for all the right reasons, but she was frustrated because he thought she couldn't handle what had happened. She loved that he thought of her, but hated him for treating her like glass. She hated herself for being a complete idiot, and she felt proud that she could actually say something like that in front of him. With every mixing in and her feelings of the robber she felt very overcome.

"I saved his life." She tried to say it emphatically, but she sounded hurt as well.

"It's rarely done, but... yes, he's suing you for saving his life. Stacey, your lawyer, and I have-"

"My lawyer?" She asked.

"You usually need one when someone's suing you for over a million dollars."

"A million?"

She sat down at the chair in front of House's desk which made him get up and move to the same side of the desk as she was at.

"He wont win, that's why I thought it was best if you just didn't have to deal with it."

"Is that why you haven't so much as looked at me lately?" She asked looking up at him.

"Yes." He said quietly, but soon afterward added, "What are you going to do about Perry?"

"Whatever my lawyer tells me to do." She said automatically.

They remained silent, neither wanting to say anything before the other initiated it.

Cameron was the one to speak after a long uncomfortable silence, "House?"

"Yes?"

"Can we watch soaps?"

Cameron didn't really like the soaps, but as she laid on the floor, using House's bag as a pillow and her lab coat as a blanket, she could just picture House next to her watching it intently, which made her drift off.

A little after three House woke her up and drove her back to her place where she passed out on top of her covers before he even left. She hadn't remembered that much of it, mostly because the entire time she felt as if she were half asleep. She also knew that sleeping would just take it away, all of the things she was supposed to be dealing with in the real world could be just washed away when she was dreaming.

She woke up feeling more refreshed than she had in a while, she put her nose to the pillow and nuzzled it, breathing in deep the sent of clean laundry. She smiled and looked over to her clock.

12:37

Her heart dropped into her stomach, she was late for work.

She did not bother to try and comb her hair, or look at her own makeup, she just went to the closet and put the closest thing on and ran out the door as she was putting shoes on.

As she drove to the hospital she tried not to speed, but kept finding herself driving a few miles above the speed limit.

She walked into the conference room to find no one there, which was a relief and worrisome. A relief because she didn't have to explain her tardiness to Chase and Foreman, and worrisome because she didn't know how much trouble she was in.

"Love the shoes." Cameron jumped at the sound of House's voice, he was in his office at his desk looking at her feet.

She looked down and saw that she was wearing untied converses. She blushed, knowing that she should have picked something, anything, else.

She bent down and began to lace them, "I'm sorry, I didn't know how late I was, for some reason my alarm didn't go off."

"The alarm clock gnomes strike again."

There was something in the way he said that, it made her think that he was the one who turned off her alarm.

"Well Sundance, we've got a meeting with Butch. Apparently the trial is going to be sooner than she thought. Which means you've got to study your lines."

Cameron sat in the chair facing House, and they waited for at least fifteen minutes before Stacey came charging through.

"Finally, I get a meeting with my client."

Cameron got up from her seat and stood near the wall, and Stacey sat down, not bothering to thank her.

"Is this the time where we play musical chairs? I wanna play too!" House said, he got up and motioned for Cameron to sit down at his seat and she thanked him.

House leaned up against one of his shelves and crossed his arms in front of him.

"It seems he's pushing for the trial to happen soon, which is making Princeton Plainsboro a very happy hospital; the sooner we can get this over with, the better. Now, because he is suing you, and not pressing charges, you're in a bit of a pickle. The jury only has to find in his favor in the preponderance of evidence, which means that they have to find that it was more likely than not, the story as he describes it. The good part is that you are a doctor, which means you are creditable, and not only is he currently serving time for robbing a drug store, but also for kidnapping."

"So, can he win?" Cameron asked.

Stacey shook her head, "No, he doesn't have a chance."

"Than why is he doing this?"

"Maybe he's just mad because you aren't dead," House chimed in.

Stacey gave House a rather mean look, "Is there a reason my client has a chaperone?"

"Yes, she's too young for you, you can't have her... unless I'm watching."

"Chase didn't need a sitter." Stacey pointed out.

"Chase did as he always does, he made a mistake, Dr. Cameron's only mistake was to save the man's life. Besides, you guys might talk about me behind my back."

"What do I have to do at the trial?" Cameron said, breaking up the fight that was occurring before her.

"Look pretty."

"You'll have to testify as to what happened," Stacey tried to say over House's interruptions, "So tell me what happened."

Cameron swallowed and began, "Mr. Perry, after he robbed the drug store-"

"What were you at the drug store doing?"

"Getting heartburn medication for Chase."

"You'll want to say something like..."

"Dr. House and I volunteered to go inside the drug store, we were going in to get heartburn medicine for a friend, Dr. Chase." Cameron said from the stand.

Stacey looked up from her notes on the large desk in front of her, "Why did you go out?"

"Objection your Honor," Mr. Perry's lawyer said from his seat, "My client's actions aren't what is on trial here."

"Your Honor," Stacey said calmly, "I'm trying to show the court what kind of emotional state my client was in that night, there by showing partially the cause of her actions."

"I'll allow it, go on Dr. Cameron."

"A patient we thought was going to die, made a full recovery, we were celebrating. Robert had too much spicy food so we had to pick him up something for it."

"And as you were picking out something to help him, what happened?"

"Mr. Perry came in, he had a gun and asked for all the money in the registers."

"What did you do?"

"When he asked us to get down, I did."

"you weren't going to stop him?"

"No, like I said, he had a gun." Cameron said a little quietly.

"What happened next?"

"Mr. Perry took the money from the boy at the register, apparently he thought there would be more because he pointed the gun at the kid's head, but there wasn't so as he was leaving he grabbed me."

"He grabbed you?"

"Yes. Then Dr. House asked him not to, and that's when he hit Dr. House."

"How hard did he hit the doctor?"

"Hard enough to knock him out." Cameron said weakly.

"What did he do next?"

"He put me in his car and drove... somewhere downtown, he stopped at a factory."

"Did he order you to do anything?"

"To get out of the car."

"Did you?" Stacey asked, sounding sincere, but Cameron knew it was all a facade.

"No, I was afraid, I just sat there. Then he came over to my side and pulled me out."

"After he pulled you, what happened?"

"I hit the ground, and there was a sharp metal object, I grabbed it in my hand, when he tucked in his gun to try and pick me up, I stabbed him in the leg with it, then I ran."

"Did you run very far?"

"No, I stopped because I knew if I didn't do anything he'd die."

"So you went back to save his life?"

"Yes."

"Why would you do that for a man who still had a gun, and probably wanted to kill you?"

"I knew from where I made the wound that he would be in too much pain to care about the gun; and I didn't want to kill anyone."

"What happened next?"

"I approached him, he asked me what I was doing, and I said I was a doctor. I placed the tourniquet around his leg, then began to run away again."

"After you said you were a doctor, did he say anything else?"

"No."

"Then what happened?"

"He shot me as I was running away, I didn't stop, I just kept running, I saw a gas station, went inside, then the attendant called nine-one-one."

"Anything else?"

"I don't remember anything else, I passed out from the lack of blood."

"I have no further questions at this time." Stacey said to the judge.

He looked over to the lawyer for Mr. Perry, "Cross?"

"Yes. Hello Dr. Cameron."

"Hi," was the only thing she could think of responding.

"We heard testimony earlier from Dr. House, he said you worked for him in the diagnostics department."

"That's correct."

He let a low laugh out, "Well I have to say, even when he explained it, I didn't really get it, what is it that you do?"

Cameron smiled when she heard the jury laugh, "Sometimes doctors don't know what's wrong with a patient. Sometimes there are so many symptoms that it doesn't fit one disease, or that it seems like nothing is wrong with a patient and yet their body is shutting down. What we do is to diagnose all of those things that either other doctors had no idea on what's happening to their patient, or when other doctors don't think there is anything wrong with the patient."

"So if I have something wrong with me, and no one else knows what it could be, the diagnostics department is my last great hope?"

"Something like that, yes."

"Dr. Wilson said that before he saw my client walk into the drug store you and Dr. House had been in there for about five minutes, is that accurate?"

"Yes," Cameron said aggravated.

"You remember this bottle?" He held up a picture of a bottle of Maalox.

"I was holding that in the drug store."

"The cashier said that when you and Dr. House came in that was the first thing you picked up, correct?"

"Yes, it was."

"What happened from that point until five minutes later when my client came into the store?"

"I don't understand what the-"

"You had in your hand what you wanted, why didn't you pay for it? Your friend, Robert, was in the car in pain and you waited in the store for five minutes for what?"

Cameron was left speechless again and the lawyer went to some of the notes on his table and straightened them up.

"Why would it take you, my 'last great hope' that long in a drug store?" He didn't pause long enough for her to answer, "Another question Dr. Cameron, why is your lawyer the same one that works for the hospital?"

"She's doing a favor for me." Cameron said, finally happy she could answer something.

"Are you two friends?"

"Not particularly."

"So why is she doing you a favor?"

"Maybe it's best for the hospital."

"Could it be because you helped diagnose her husband with Porfieria?"

"Maybe, I don't really know."

"May I ask why, up until recently you were never said to go on the witness stand, and even that you weren't going to come to this trial at all?" He stopped her from answering, "let me rephrase, how long have you known about this case?"

"About a week." Cameron fumed.

"Why is it that you were unaware of a lawsuit brought up against you? Who was handling the case before you knew?"

"Stacey and Dr. House."

"So doctor House kept the very existence of the case from you, why?"

"He said he thought I had enough dealings with Mr. Perry, he thought it would be better for me-"

"Objection, the witness is clearly speculating." Stacey said.

"Overruled."

"Defense calls for short recess to confer with my client." Stacey said before the plaintiff's attorney could ask another question.

The judge agreed and Stacey showed Cameron and House into a meeting room.

"What in the hell is going on here?"

"A trial apparently." House said, he only seemed to be half trying with his sarcastic tone.

"What in the hell is going on out there? Why wont you answer his questions?"

"Because the answers don't make either of us look good," House said, his eyes not leaving Cameron.

"Well what are they? At least give me some warning as to how much damage control I have to do here."

"We were in there so long because we wanted Chase to feel bad for a little while longer." Cameron said.

"Great, that makes you look good."

"The fact that earlier Chase took complete advantage of her doesn't make him look too good either." House said.

After ten minutes of bickering, the bailiff came in the room and told them that their time was up. They went back in and Cameron took the stand again.

"What took you so long in the drug store?"

Cameron thought about it for a moment, then said the first thing she could think of about Chase, "Robert was helping the person in charge of the hospital, who had something against Dr. House, get anything and everything bad on him. It was wrong, but we delayed getting it almost as a payback."

End of part seven


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Vicodin is for Lovers pt 8?  
Author: revolution25 aka laurieisme  
Summary: will later be House/Cameron. Between love and hate, Cameron and House find a happy in-between.  
Rating: Teen right now, may go to Adult later.  
Author's Notes: My first House fanfiction, but hardly my first fanfiction. As ever thanks eternally to my beta

Aliquid ardet(_Something's burning_)

"To Allison!" Wilson said above the noise level of the crowd, "May her lawsuits always end in a 'not guilty!'"

Everyone lifted their glasses and drank to that. They were all sitting at a small but noisy pub, hours earlier they ruled in favor of Cameron, and they awarded her enough money to cover her legal expenses.

"I don't know, I would have really liked to see you in handcuffs." House teased.

"There's a fantasy of both of ours gone down the drain." She replied.

House just laughed, knowing for once she had him beat.

"Allison, Allison, Allison," Wilson came up to her and took her over to the side of the bar that had been designated as the dance floor.

"Jimmy, how drunk are you?" she asked as she let him move his hands so they were dancing a foxtrot.

"Not at all by the alcohol, but the radiance," He spun them both, which made her laugh, "of your beauty when you are proven not guilty... It took all of my control to sustain me, but now that you are in my arms; I am drunk on the brilliant light that is your soul."

She laughed with him, then looked around to everyone witnessing their spectacle. Foreman, caught her eye and smiled to her, but Chase was facing Foreman and saying something emphatically. She turned her attention to House, who was looking away and drinking his beer down in a few long gulps, he did not look as happy as he did a few moments ago.

Something inside her felt sorry for him, a larger part of herself she didn't want to admit was even inside her felt rather good about it. She felt like shit when he was keeping the knowledge of the trial away from her, and she felt even worse for the entire time he was gone. For him to feel a little of what she felt made her feel good, and that made her feel guilty.

He ordered another one and popped a little white pill in his mouth, a pill she had known to be Vicodin, a drug that should not be taken with alcohol.

She felt fingertips at her side, which tickled her and made her try and pull away as she laughed, but Wilson took a tighter hold of her.

"I will not have the woman of the hour looking sullen." He said to her smiling.

She couldn't help but smile and feel at least a little bit better.

"Come m'lady, it is time to do the electric slide." Wilson said once the song changed.

When Foreman saw what they were doing he got up and made Chase join them. Cameron spent most of the dance trying to keep up and not step on anyone's feet, but mostly laughing at her own clumsiness. When the song was over she curtsied to the others then went towards the ladies room. When she got in there she caught her breath then freshened up her makeup.

She gave herself one last look in the mirror then headed out. Before she could join the others, she saw a figure stand at the far end of the hallway, away from the pub and all of the lights. Once she saw the shadow of the cane she approached him. He was leaning against the wall on one side, and looking down to what seemed to be the bottom of his cane. She mirrored his position, leaning on the wall, but she was looking at him, and trying to catch his stare.

"I don't dance." He said forcefully.

"I never thought you would." She said truthfully.

"I mean I think you should go back out there and leave me be."

She smiled a playful smile and again tried to look him in the eyes, "Maybe I don't want to leave you, maybe I want to bother you." She began to poke him in the arm, "It's my night you know, I can do whatever I want."

"You're acting like a child," he said trying to catch her finger to stop her from poking her.

"I know you are but what am I."

"Stop that, do what you like but stop poking me." He finally grabbed her wrist and looked her in the eyes, everything about his body and voice telling her 'go away.'

She put her other hand on his neck, her thumb going across his stubble, her face getting closer and closer to his.

"I want you," She whispered.

"I think you're drunk."

She shook her head, "Drunk, sober," she kissed his jaw line, "I always want you."

He put his cane against the wall then took his hand and put it on her shoulder, moving her away from him and looking her in the eyes, "Not tonight."

She frowned and started to move away from him feeling embarrassed, but he kept his grip on her which made her look in his eyes again.

His eyes glittered playfully, "Not a never, just not tonight."

She smiled, "I order you to come and drink with us, you must obey."

"I order you to wear a mini skirt on Monday."

"Maybe... Maybe Chase will be wearing one too."

"Even better."

By the end of the night Wilson had somehow become the designated driver, he was the one that drank only a little at the beginning of the night, and once they were ready to leave he had already sobered up. He first brought Chase home, who stumbled out of the passenger's seat and tripped up to his front door. Foreman was next, and when he was leaving Cameron kissed him on the forehead after that it was just Wilson in the front seat, with Cameron and House in the back. Cameron was in the middle seat, and once Foreman got out she had the option of moving to that seat, and further away from House, she didn't do it though.

"I love this song!" Wilson said as he turned up the radio on high.

Cameron turned to House, and the look in her eyes as she stared at him could only be described as hungry. House learned something that night, when Dr. Cameron was inebriated she became wanton. Her face came close to his, then nuzzled her cheek lightly to his, and soon began to kiss him on his neck.

"I may be drunk, but I do distinctly remember saying not tonight." He said, not moving her away but also not encouraging her.

"'S'morning. It's just a kiss, nothing more than that..."

The way she slurred her words told him this should really stop, but that part of him, the sober part was being beaten up and thrown in a dumpster by the more affected part of him, the part of him that wanted to keep going Wilson's presence be damned. It sounded so logical to this fuzzy part of his brain, what would one kiss do? It hadn't hurt before, why should it hurt now?

He couldn't help it, when she put her lips to his he couldn't help but kiss her back. Her warm lips felt so smooth against his, and when her tongue slipped into his mouth he put his hand in her hair and moved her closer to him, crushing her lips to him.

Wilson was still singing to the music he had been blasting, and hadn't noticed his passengers.

House moved his hand that was at her side over to her shoulder so he could pull her closer, but in the process his finger grazed her breast which made Cameron let out a moan that was louder than it should have been, House pushed her body closer to his hoping to silence her.

"Oh my god!" Wilson let out once he saw what was going on in the back seat.

House could feel Cameron smile, and she did not move away from him, if anything she tried to move closer. House soon caught on to why she was doing this in Wilson's car. She knew the way House had felt about herself and Wilson, she also knew Wilson's display earlier that night brought back all those insecurities. By doing this in front of Wilson, she was clearly saying 'hands off, taken.' Something about her expressing that to his best friend had made the kiss that much more passionate.

Once he realized all that she was doing, and once he knew that Wilson was watching, the way he kissed her could only be interpreted one way; 'Mine.'

They found the need for air, and even though they stopped kissing House's hand was still in her hair keeping her close to him.

The car stopped in front of Cameron's apartment building, and Wilson stayed oddly quiet.

Cameron smiled wickedly, "See you Monday?"

"Monday," He nodded.

They kissed quickly one last time, then she slid to the other side and let herself out. When she was in the apartment building Wilson finally turned to House.

"What in the hell was that!"

"Nothing you'll be telling a soul about." House leaned his head on the back head-rest.

"Of course... but, I'd like to know what almost made me crash my car."

House waived one hand not even bothering looking at his friend, "Home, James."


End file.
